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WHAT:  Digging Deeper XLVIII: America, Wake Up!
WHO:  Led by Mark Jensen
WHEN:  Monday, May 19 & 26, 2008 -- 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
WHERE:  Mandolin Café, 3923 South 12th St., Tacoma, WA 98405

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United for Peace
of Pierce County
Study Circle:
May 19 & 26, 2008
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http://www.ufppc.org
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DIGGING DEEPER XLVIII: AMERICA, WAKE UP!

Refusing to bow to the pessimism of authors like Chalmers Johnson and Kevin Phillips, a number of authors believe that a democratic mobilization of Americans is possible -- one comparable to the revitalization of the American Republic that began in the Populist revolt of 1892, setting the stage for the Progressive Era and the expansion of land-grant universities, the growth of the labor movement, drives for state and municipal reform, campaigns against child labor and for minimum wage, tax reform, industrial accident insurance, and political primaries, the publications of muckrakers like Ida Tarbell and Lincoln Steffens, the movement to destroy the trusts, and so many other progressive milestones.

On May 19 and 26, Digging Deeper will examine two books that give practical advice to those would like to assist in revitalizing American democracy in the 21st century:

—Naomi Wolf, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007). “This latest offering from best-selling author Wolf . . . is a compellingly and cogently argued political argument for civil rights . . . She contributes this call to action to a canon that from Plato and Aristotle to Hobbes and Locke and forward, with a few exceptions (e.g., Hannah Arendt), has been largely populated by men. . . . Readers will appreciate her energy and urgency as she warns we are living through a dangerous ‘fascist shift’ brought about by the Bush administration.” —Library Journal.

—Thom Hartmann, Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America’s Original Vision (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2007).  “Millions of working Americans talk, act, and vote as if their economic interests match those of the megawealthy, global corporations, and the politicians who do their bidding.  How did this happen?  According to Air America radio host Thom Hartmann, the apologists of the Right have become masters of the subtle and largely subconscious aspects of political communication.  It’s not an escalation in Iraq, it’s a surge; it’s not the inheritance tax, it’s the death tax; it’s not drilling for oil, it’s exploring for energy.  Conservatives didn't intuit the path to persuasive messaging; they learned these techniques.  There is no reason why progressives can't learn them too.  In Cracking the Code, Hartmann shows you how.”  —Book description.

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Since July 2004, United for Peace of Pierce County has been conducting “Digging Deeper,” a Monday-evening book discussion group, often in the form of a study circle. Topics have included peak oil, climate change, the corporation, torture, Iran, U.S.-Iran relations, the writings of Robert Baer, Islam, American immigration policy, Barack Obama and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Saul Alinsky’s life and writings, war and human nature, parallels between the U.S. and ancient Rome, the sustainability revolution, and the debt crisis, as well as abiding themes of war, peace, politics, and social change. Occasionally, the group has spent several weeks reading longer works, like Daniel Yergin’s The Prize or Robert Fisk’s The Great War for Civilisation.

DIGGING DEEPER meets every Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma, WA.

Participation is free. Some copies of the books are available for purchase or loan. Info: contact Mark Jensen (jensenmk@plu.edu; 253-535-7219).

****************
United for Peace
of Pierce County
Study Circle:
May 19 & 26, 2008
****************
http://www.ufppc.org
****************